UNFPA IN THE NEWS – DECEMBER 3-9, 2005

WORLD AIDS DAY

Jamaica: The Jamaica Gleaner reported December 5 that hundreds of Jamaicans joined very long lines for a free HIV/AIDS test, during the Ministry of Health's annual “World AIDS Day Exhibition and Concert” held at the Emancipation Park in New Kingston. The story noted that Jamaica , which has been an active participant in the observance of World AIDS Day since its inception in 1988, is part of UNFPA's thrust to draw attention to this year's theme through an increased public education campaign. Read: Jamaica Gleaner

Malawi : The Nation reported December 6 that coinciding with World AIDS Day, UNFPA Country Representative Esperance Fundira visited two Banja La Mtsogolo Clinics in Blantyre and was impressed with quality of services provided to young people. She said UNFPA and the communities it works in will not reverse the spread of HIV and AIDS unless HIV prevention measures are intensified in scope and scale. Fundira said, “Strategies must involve all people affected-including young people who constitute over half of all new infections worldwide each year-and respond to the realities they face.” Read: The Nation , The Daily Times

Pakistan : The Nation reported December 3 that UNFPA Representative France Donnay was present at World AIDS Day celebrations organized by the Sindh AIDS Control Program and the Sindh NGOs Network on HIV/AIDS. Pakistan 's health secretary assured international donors that their money would be used properly and those NGOs not working seriously to control the AIDS will be banned soon.

USA: The Free Lance-Star ran a December 5 editorial that noted: “On Thursday, the world observed the 18 th annual World AIDS day. There was no celebration. For despite nearly two decades of effort, the plague shows no signs of abating. Indeed, the news is gloomy: At best, HIV/AIDS has leveled off in some places. In many others, it's exploding, leaving a trail of human misery no government can alleviate.” The editorial cited Thoraya Ahmed Obaid , executive director of UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, saying, "HIV/AIDS will not be stopped unless leaders at all levels act now to boost comprehensive prevention efforts targeting women, injecting drug users, and sex workers." The editorial concluded: “The war against AIDS will not be won by ignoring any of the components or by caving to groups with a mixed agenda. Education, prevention, treatment, testing--these are the four white horsemen needed to avoid the AIDS apocalypse.” Read: Free Lance-Star

INTERNATIONAL DAY FOR THE ELIMINATION OF VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

Lebanon : IRIN reported December 5 that Lebanese g overnment ministries and civil society groups in the capital Beirut are collaborating for the first time to tackle the issue of violence against women. A three-day workshop was organized by UNFPA, in cooperation with the Lebanese Health and Social Affairs ministries, to discuss the issue. Workshop participants are expected to make official recommendations to the government this week. According to Faiza Benhadid, UNFPA gender and socio-cultural advisor, violence against women in Lebanon and other Arab countries takes many forms. These include: the selective abortion of female fetuses; early marriage; female genital cutting; marital rape; and honor crimes. Read: IRIN

Nepal: Xinhua General News Service reported December 3 that at a program on "Break Men's Silence About the Violence Against Women," UNFPA Representative in Nepal Junko Sazaki said that globally, one in three women is beaten, coerced into sex, or abused by a partner during her lifetime. She said that although Nepal is a unique country in many ways, Nepali women, like women in everywhere in the world, silently suffer abuse and violence in their own homes.

Sudan : Increased Efforts Called to Prevent Sexual and Gender-Based Violence

IRIN reported December 5 that humanitarian agencies have called for increased efforts to prevent sexual and gender-based violence (GBV) in war-torn western Sudan , saying such acts against women violate their human rights. "Violence is not inevitable," said Hassan Mohtashami, UNFPA representative in Sudan . "Rather, it is often predictable and preventable. A number of interventions can be promising and effective in preventing violence and reducing the harm caused when it does occur." The story noted that UNFPA has been mandated to initiate GBV prevention and treatment programs in Darfur . It is working with federal and state officials to implement measures to protect women and girls, change harmful policies and build the capacity of U.N. agencies, government institutions and NGOs in the region. Read: IRIN

MICROCREDIT FOUND TO HELP WOMEN

Associated Press reported December 8 that the number of small loans to help people escape from poverty increased sevenfold from 1997 to 2004, and the vast majority of the poorest recipients were women, according to a new survey by the U.N.'s Microcredit Summit Campaign. Women in many parts of the world lack education and the opportunity to work in high-paying sectors, and they are often under enormous social pressure to focus almost exclusively on child rearing and maintaining the home, said Aminata Toure, a senior adviser to UNFPA. Empowering women is directly linked to reducing global poverty, she said, but economic empowerment alone is not enough. "We have to add other dimensions and bring social elements into microcredit," she told AP, emphasizing the importance of education and reproductive health services.

CONFERENCE ON WOMEN'S RIGHTS IN ARAB COUNTRIES

Yemen Times reported December 4 that a three-day conference, “The Women Rights in the Arab World: from Words to Deeds,” involving 300 women, a session on woman and poverty was held through the joint cooperation of the General Secretariat, UNDP and UNFPA. Read: Yemen Times

AFRICA : Women More Vulnerable to HIV/AIDS Infection than Men

Agence France-Presse reported December 7 that not only are women biologically more prone to HIV infection than men, but for a variety of social, cultural and economic reasons they also have a harder time coping with the illness once infected, particularly in Africa. "Nearly 60 percent of infections at the moment are in women, most of them in younger women," explained Helen Jackson, HIV/AIDS advisor for southern Africa with UNFPA. "The physiological data seem to indicate it's something like twice as easy for women to become infected as for men," she said at the 14th International Conference on AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections in Africa (ICASA) being held this week in Abuja . Read: Agence France-Presse

AFRICA : Census Workshop

Ghana News Agency reported December 5 that at the opening of a three-week regional training workshop on methodology and software (CSPro) for survey and census data-processing for Anglophone Africa, Ghana's Minister of Finance and Economic Planning called for an effective means of preventing errors in the provision of data during survey and censuses for development and economic growth. The story noted that the workshop, with 31 participants from Ghana , Tanzania , Ethiopia , Nigeria , Liberia , Kenya , Zimbabwe , Swaziland and Lesotho . The workshop was organized by the Ghana Statistical Service in conjunction with United States Census Bureau, Ghana and Dakar UNFPA Country Support Team. Read: Ghana News Agency

ARMENIA : Abortion Rates Halved

ARMINFO reported December 6 that the number of abortions has halved in Armenia , according to Deputy Representative of UNFPA in Armenia Garik Hayrapetyan. This is due to a number of measures to improve reproductive health carried out in Armenia since 1996. Besides contraceptives have been given free of charge in 75 family planning centers under UNFPA projects.

ARMENIA : UNFPA Provides Cars for Gynecological Emergencies

ARMINFO reported December 7 that UNFPA plans to provide all the regions of Armenia with cars outfitted with emergency gynecological and resuscitation equipment. Gagik Hayrapetian, deputy representative of UNFPA, said each fully-equipped car costs about $20,000.

EGYPT : Family Planning Successes and Roadblocks

Financial Times reported December 7 that with its 70 million people, Egypt has had more success in improving women's access to contraception, but the results have been less than satisfactory. Faysal Mohamed, UNFPA's representative in Cairo , said many women encounter "bureaucratic" obstacles that prevent them from obtaining the health services that are available. With only one in four Egyptian women in work and earning significantly less than men, even after education and experience have been taken into account, the incentive to have fewer children is considered unlikely to be very compelling.

Infoprod reported December 6 that the department of the Arab countries, Europe and central Asia at UNFPA said that Egypt has achieved major success to reduce maternal and child mortality rate as well as curb population increase in the past ten years.

JAMAICA : Journalists Honored

Jamaica Observer reported December 9 that UNFPA's Caribbean office honored six journalists from three of the 21 countries at the 2005 Caribbean Media Awards at the Hilton Kingston Hotel . The theme of the awards is "Gender Equality, Reproductive Health and the Millennium Development Goals." UNFPA Representative Harold Robinson said, "The objective of the Caribbean Media Awards is to encourage and promote leadership and excellence in Caribbean media practitioners in covering these issues that are so vital to poverty reduction and sustainable development." Read: Jamaica Observer

INDIA : Male Involvement in Family Planning

The Hindu reported December 7 that male participation in the country's family planning program continues to be very negligible with only 2.7 per cent of the males accounting for the total number of persons who underwent sterilization in 2004-05. "The male participation is growing but very slowly," said Dr. Jayalakshmi, who attributed the increased male cooperation to non-scalpel vasectomy (NSV), first introduced in the country in 1997. M.S.Jayalakashmi, deputy commissioner in charge for the family planning division in the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, said in 2004, with the support from UNFPA, NSV was made a national program in India . The country presently has 2000 trained doctors in NSV while the target is to increase their number to 20,000 in the future. “It is a matter of gender equality. The men should share the responsibility of birth control,'' she said, pointing out that men should account for at least 50% of the cases sterilized.

INDONESIA : Post-Tsunami Census Figures Released

Agence France-Presse reported December 9 that Indonesian officials have released the results of a post-tsunami census carried out in devastated Aceh province. The UNFPA-funded census found that 4,031,589 people were now living in Indonesia 's westernmost province. The figure was down by 238,411 on the figure compiled before national elections in October 2004.

LIBERIA : National Youth Policy to Be Finalized

The Inquirer reported December 8 that Liberia 's National Youth Policy is scheduled to be finalized on December 14. Assistant Minister of Youth Services Robert S. Tamba said the process of this national youth policy was initiated by the late Youth and Sports Minister, Francoise Massaquoi, in consultation with UNFPA. Read: The Inquirer

MEXICO : Migration Figures Revealed

Associated Press reported December 3 that at a UNFPA conference on migratory issues in Latin America, where experts reported on recent trends in migration, it was revealed that the number of Mexicans leaving their country, almost all for the United States, has reached 400,000 per year and will continue to grow for several more years. Arie Hoekman, UNFPA representative in Mexico , said: "Lately, we are seeing a greater flow in undocumented migrants with very low educational levels." Experts noted that migration affects not only the lives of the migrants and the countries to which they emigrate but also their own hometowns, where relatives receive the money they send home. "There are some inflationary effects, in the sense that there is more money around," Hoekman said. "Products become more expensive, and the value of properties is rising in several communities where there are more migrants who maintain close ties to their hometowns." Read: Associated Press , El Universal

CIMAC reported on 2 December that today's female migrants make up 49% of the 190 million migrants worldwide. This topic received special attention at the “Meeting of Experts on International Migration and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean” in Mexico City , which was organized by UNFPA, in partnership with CONAPO and CELADE, in which Arie Hoekman, UNFPA Representative for Mexico , emphasized the inherent link between migration, reproductive health and HIV/AIDS. Read: CIMAC , Criterios , La Jornada , Reforma

Bloomberg reported December 7 that a week ago, President George W. Bush said in neighboring Arizona that he would add officers, fences, surveillance planes and sensors to the border to slow the flow of migrants. Experts say the plan will do little to deter the hundreds of thousands of other Mexicans who cross each year because of the lure of jobs that pay at least five times more than in Mexico . “The pull from the U.S. is tremendous,” said Hoekman, the UNFPA representative in Mexico . “Cutting that flow off is not going to be an easy task.'' Read: Bloomberg , El Porvenir , La Jornada

MEXICO : ‘ Brain Drain' – More and More American Universities Host Mexican Scholars

La Jornada reported on 3 December on the outcomes of the “ Meeting of Experts on International Migration and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean” from 30 November to 2 December 2005 in Mexico City , which was organized by UNFPA, in partnership with CONAPO and CELADE. World Bank Representative, Mr. Caglar Özden, stated that the problem of brain drain persists in Mexico because of the low level of graduate- or post-graduate academic professional opportunities offered to Mexican scholars. Read: La Jornada , Notiver

NIGERIA : 400 Million Condoms Distributed in Last Four Years
This Day reported December 4 that at a sensitization program attended by Dr. Mohammed Belhocine, WHO representative in Nigeria, Dr. Pierre Mpele, UNAIDS coordinator in Nigeria, Ayalew Abai of UNICEF, Essan Niagoran of UNFPA, Prof. Babatune Osotimehin and Sulma Burton, country representative of UNFPA, the National Action Committee on AIDS (NACA) said that 200 million condoms have been distributed throughout Nigeria within the last four years. Read: This Day

PAKISTAN : Quake Relief Efforts Continue

Associated Press of Pakistan reported December 5 that at a press conference updating relief efforts from the October 8 earthquake, Federal Health Secretary Syed Anwar Mehmood said 20 rural health centers will be set up in the affected areas with the cooperation of UNFPA. Pakistan Newswire reported December 8 that a four-member Saudi delegation led by Regional Director of Saudi Public Assistance handed over a consignment of essential medicines for the earthquake survivors to the Minister of State for Health Begum Shehnaz Shaikh. Pakistan Federal Health Secretary Syed Anwar Mehmood said 100 pre-fabricated Basic Health Units and 20 Rural Health centers are being established in the quake-stricken areas with the support of UNICEF, WHO and UNFPA to revitalize the health-care services.

PAKISTAN : Various Factors Could Rapidly Spread HIV/AIDS

Business Recorder reported December 5 that inadequate screening blood transfusion, high level of professional donors and unsafe injection practices are yielding serious risks factors that put Pakistan in danger of facing a rapid spread of HIV/AIDS. The story noted UNAIDS has established a group, which includes UNAIDS, WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA, UNDP, UNDCP, UNESCO, ILO, the World Bank, national and provincial program managers and representatives of NGOs, to coordinate the U.N. response to provide assistance to the government in the strategic development of activities.

PHILIPPINES : Reproductive Health Advocates Urge Passage of Responsible Parenthood and Population Management Act of 2005

Philippine Daily Inquirer reported December 4 that representatives of the Philippine Legislators Committee on Population and Development (PLCPD) urged the Arroyo administration to focus on pushing House Bill No. 3773 or the Responsible Parenthood and Population Management Act of 2005. Faith Bacon, program manager of PLCPD, said Dr. Zahidul Huque, UNFPA representative to the Philippines, had noted that if there was no efficient policy adopted to restrain the increasing population (at an annual growth rate of 2.36 percent), the Philippines' current population of 84 million would likely double in the next 25 to 29 years. She said Huque cited the country's annual population growth of roughly two million as the highest in Southeast Asia . Read: Philippine Daily Inquirer

PHILIPPINES : First Annual Population and Development Media Awards

Manila Bulletin reported December 6 that the winners of the First Annual Population and Development (PopDev) Media Awards will be officially declared on Friday, Dec. 9, during awarding ceremonies to be held at the Sinagtala Ballroom of the Ilustrado Restaurant, Intramuros, Manila . The winners for the Best Reportage, Best Investigative and Best Opinion/Editorial categories will each receive P25,000 cash, a trophy, and a study trip to a UNFPA project area in the Philippines . Read: Manila Bulletin

TURKMENISTAN : New U.N. Coordinator Appointed

Gundogar reported December 7 that the U.N. Permanent Coordinator, Permanent Representative of UNDP and UNFPA in Turkmenistan , Khaled Philby, completed his mission and left Turkmenistan on November 30. Richard Young has been appointed the new permanent coordinator and the head of all U.N. projects in Turkmenistan . Earlier he was the head of the UNICEF representative office in Kyrgyzstan .

UGANDA : Progress to Eliminate Female Genital Mutilation

New Vision reported December 8 that UNFPA will intensify its fight against female genital mutilation (FGM) among the Sabiny. UNFPA Acting Country Representative Aisha Kamara said, "We shall ensure that individuals are facilitated to take informed decisions. We pledge to continue working with the Government of Uganda to improve access to the quality reproductive health." Read: New Vision

New Vision reported December 8 that Amina Koroyeny, alias Hatari (Kiswahili for danger), a prominent Sabiny female circumcision surgeon, has appealed to UNFPA to set up a viable business as a retirement package to make her stop the practice. Koroyeny, an opponent of UNFPA's campaign to eradicate the practice, surprised UNFPA when she resigned from surgical FGM activities. Read: New Vision

UNITED STATES: 34 Million Friends of UNFPA

Pasadena Weekly ran a December 8 column by Ellen Snortland who wrote about co-founder of 34 Million Friends of UNFPA Jane Robert's contagious activism. Snortland noted: “If only we could duplicate family planning champion Jane Roberts in a sort of ‘clone an activist' movement, we'd have a just world in no time. Alas, as it is, Redlands resident Roberts is unique and in a class of one or two. As she says herself, ‘I'm grateful to Lois Abraham , who showed me the power of two.'” Read: Pasadena Weekly

VIETNAM : 2.1 Fertility Rate Achieved

Vietnam News Agency reported December 6 that the General Statistics Office and UNFPA announced that Vietnam has reached the replacement birth rate with a total fertility rate of 2.1, much lower than the Southeast Asian average of 2.7. Read: Vietnam News Agency

VIETNAM : Youth Program Discussed

Thanh Nien Daily reported December 4 that at a two-day conference on a adolescent reproductive health program managed by the HCMC Communist Youth Union in cooperation with the EU, UNFPA and NGOs, it was revealed that 35 to 70 percent of Vietnamese youths who had sex with prostitutes seldom used condoms. Read: Thanh Nien Daily

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